BROOKFIELD - As voters headed to the polls Tuesday morning, Republican candidate John McCain made a stop at the Sheraton Hotel to rally supporters.

Based on Tuesday’s early, unofficial results, his backers in Wisconsin heard him loud and clear. McCain easily won the state’s primary over former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the lone active Republican challenger remaining.

McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said the coming general election will be tough.

"My friends, we want to win today in Wisconsin, and with your help we can win another step," McCain said. "And I’d like to say again I respect Gov. (Mike) Huckabee’s desire to remain in this race. I respect him. He’s run a good race.

"We need to unite our party. We’re going to face a tough competitor no matter which one of the two leading Democratic candidates is, and we’re going to have to work and the state of Wisconsin is going to be a key swing state," he said.

McCain spoke Tuesday about the economy, the war in Iraq and health care for veterans. McCain and his wife, Cindy, joined a crowd of young people holding signs on the stage. One sign read, "Favre 4 VP" and another "Cheeseheads for McCain."

"I want to thank all of you for coming today, and I realize that everybody in Wisconsin is used to this kind of weather, but still, I am still grateful that you came out this morning," he said.

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